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James Wilks
| birth_place = Leicestershire, England | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | residence = | nationality =English | height = | weight = | weightclass = | reach = | style = Submission Wrestling, TaeKwonDo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | stance = | fightingoutof= Laguna Hills, California | team = Lightning MMA | rank = | yearsactive = | mmawins = 6 | mmakowins = 2 | mmasubwins = 4 | mmadecwins = 0 | mmalosses = 3 | mmakolosses = | mmasublosses = | mmadeclosses = | mmadraws = 0 | mmancs = 0 | url = | sherdog = | footnotes = | updated = }} James Brett Wilks (born April 5, 1978 in Leicestershire) is an English professional MMA fighter. He was the winner of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom. Wilks currently fights for Ultimate Fighting Championship in the UK welterweight division. Biography Wilks was born and raised in Leicestershire, England. He attended Uppingham School. After leaving Uppingham in 1996, Wilks went to Bournemouth University, obtaining a degree in Business and Land Management.http://www.ufc.com/JamesWilks He moved to the United States in June 2000. Mixed Martial Arts Wilks began training TaeKwonDo and Bruce Lee's martial art style, Jeet Kune Do while living in the United Kingdom. He moved to the United States and began training under Erik Paulson with Combat Submission Wrestling. Wilks moved so he could get better at his jiu-jitsu and other ground skills. Wilks holds a black belt in TaeKwonDo and a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He had his first professional fight against The Ultimate Fighter 5 competitor, Roman Mitichyan. Wilks won the fight via armbar submission in the second round. After the fight he took around a year break from fighting so he could focus on training his students. He came back to have his second fight and lost to Jimmy Smith. Before going to tape the The Ultimate Fighter 9, Wilks won the Gladiator Challenge welterweight title.http://www.jameslightningwilks.com/biograph/ After filming of the Ultimate Fighter ended, Wilks opened up his own gym, Lightning MMA in Laguna Hills, California. The Ultimate Fighter After starting his pro career with a 5-2 mark in local shows in California, Wilks was chosen to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom. Representing Team UK under coach Michael Bisping. He defeated the highly-regarded Che Mills by submission in an elimination match earning him a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete on the show. Wilks had his second fight against Team United States fighter Frank Lester. Wilks won the fight by submission in the second round. In the semi-finals, Wilks faced Lester in a for a second straight time, after Lester returned to the tournament to defeat David Faulkner while substituting for Jason Pierce, who was removed from the competition by Dana White. In the rematch, Wilks defeated Lester by TKO via Knees in the third round, earning a spot in the live finale. Ultimate Fighting Championships Wilks made his debut for the UFC winning against DaMarques Johnson at the TUF 9 Finale on June 20, 2009. The fight crowned Wilks as the TUF 9 welterweight champion. Wilks dominated the fight against Johnson showing off strong striking and good submission attempts. Wilks finished the fight with Johnson via a rear naked choke submission in the closing seconds of the first round. Wilks lost to Matt Brown via 3rd round TKO, on November 14, 2009 at UFC 105. Wilks has verbally agreed to face Peter Sobotta at UFC 115.http://www.groundandpound.de/mma/amerika/news/sobotta-gegen-wilks-bei-ufc-115/ Mixed Martial Arts Record Titles and Accomplishments *'Mixed Martial Arts' **Winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9 (Welterweight) References External links *Official Fight Team * *Official Website *UFC Profile *Personal Myspace Page Category:Living people Category:1978 births Category:People from Leicestershire Category:British mixed martial artists Category:Old Uppinghamians Category:English immigrants to the United States Category:British Jiu-Jitsu practitioners by nationality Category:British taekwondo practitioners ja:ジェームス・ウィルクス